Oral history interview with LaShea Cretain, 2018

Biographical Note

LaShea Cretain was born in 1978 in Opelousas, Louisiana. She came from a large and complex family, and was largely raised by her grandparents. Her grandfather worked at the local police department. She also lived at times with her mother in Detroit, Michigan and with family in San Diego, California. Her son was born while she was in high school in Opelousas, and her daughter shortly after she graduated in 1996. In the October of that year, she was shot five times by her ex-boyfriend, the father of her daughter. At the time, she was staying with her great-aunt. There was no trial, as the shooter committed suicide. Cretain returned to California in 1999 and started college shortly thereafter. In the late 2010s, Cretain was living in San Diego, working as a speaker, pursuing an MBA degree, and was a member of Everytown for Gun Safety's Survivor Network and Moms Demand Action

Scope and Contents

In this life history interview, LaShea Cretain describes her family; her life trajectory in Opelousas, Louisiana and San Diego, California; and a life-altering incident where an ex-boyfriend shot her five times. She begins by describing life growing up in Opelousas, the structure of her large family, and relationships with family members. Her grandparents were especially active in raising her, and she describes their personalities and challenges in depth. She describes periods spent living with her mother in Detroit, Michigan and with extended family in San Diego, a city where she would ultimately settle. She describes events of her high school years including a period of home schooling due to a heart condition, the birth of her son, relationships, and the birth of her daughter shortly after graduation. She discusses her relationship with an abusive ex, detailing the escalation of his abuse from verbal through stages of physical violence. She describes his unwillingness to leave her alone after she broke up with him. She gives a detailed account of the day that her shot her while she was at her great-aunt's house with her daughter. Cretain describes being in a coma, her medical treatment, recovery, not being offered counseling or therapy, and returning to work at McDonald's after hospitalization. She also analyzes the financial impacts of hospital bills. She also describes the difficulty of getting information about the case from the police in Opelousas. She also discusses gun culture in Opelousas, the Second Amendment, gun control, choosing to move to California, her educational trajectory, and the educations of her children

Subjects

• Attempted murder.
• Cretain, LaShea--Interviews.
• Gun control--United States.
• Interviews.
• Intimate partner violence.
• Opelousas (La.)
• Opelousas (La.). Police Department.
• Oral histories (literary works)
• Violent crimes--United States.
• Werner-Thomas, Holly, interviewer.

Access Conditions

Copyright by LaShea Cretain. The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York hold a non-exclusive license to enable library activities